Southern University graduate and former employee Trayvean Scott has been tapped to lead as Grambling State University‘s new athletic director! Learn about why he’s the perfect man for the job in local Honor News Star‘s latest article below written by Cory Diaz.

Trayvean Scott will have to trade his Columbia blue and gold for black and gold.

Scott, who spent the last decade in Southern University’s athletics department, has been hired as Grambling’s athletics director. The Tigers and Jaguars are storied athletic rivals.

Grambling announced Scott’s hire Thursday afternoon. The hire is pending approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. Terms of Scott’s contract were not disclosed.

“He has delineated a clear vision and a commitment to all of our sports and the coaches who guide those programs,” GSU President Rick Gallot said. “He shares our vision as well as campus’ master plan to significant investments in our athletic facilities so our student-athletes have all the tools they need to be successful.”

Scott comes to Grambling after serving as SU’s deputy athletics director and chief operating officer for the better part of 10 years. This marks Scott’s first time as an AD.

“I’m thrilled the death to be here,” Scott said. “(This position) means everything. This is my first AD job. President Gallot is so transformational and easily relatable. For me, I couldn’t think of a more perfect scenario to be a first-time AD.”

A 2005 Southern graduate, Scott played basketball for the Jaguars. He studied business administration, management and sports marketing in SU’s College of Business.

“I’ve worked in academics, compliance, I’ve raised money, I’ve done marketing. All that’s prepared a space for me where I can identify those things and have everyone’s buy-in because I’ve done it,” Scott said. “I think I can add that value to Grambling State. It’ll help us be more efficient across the board and smarter. 

“We’re going to maximize every resource we have.”

Grambling began searching for an athletics director when David “Rusty” Ponton changed roles at the university on May 1, serving as special assistant to the president for student success. Ponton was GSU’s AD for two-plus years.

For the first time, GSU partnered with a search firm for its AD search, enlisting TurnkeyZRG to vet the initial pool of applicants and identify its final candidates.